Rifle Scope Aligning Made Easy & Cheap

Aligning a scope on a rifle for the first time or resetting the scope, if needed, is easily accomplished with usually one shot at approximately 25 yards. One can then refer to a ballistics chart for the particular bullet weight, manufacturer, etc. to determine how his bullet will perform (rise or fall of the bullet) at 100, 200 yards and beyond, and adjust the scope for the rise or fall of the bullet before actually shooting the rifle at the yardage he desires.

Some basic but necessary tools include a sturdy platform, such as a bench or table that cannot be easily moved or shaken, a shooting vise or sand bags that hold the rifle semi rigid and a fairly large target. A large piece of cardboard with a target attached or a bulls eye simply drawn on the cardboard will suffice for the large target. I personally use a fairly simple and sort of small sized & low cost shooter's vise (a Shooters Ridge Shooting Vise that can be purchased for near $40) that clamps the forearm and stock of the rifle securely, then tightly bungie strap the vise to a sturdy table.

Preferably, the first step in setting a newly installed scope to assure the first shot hits the target in a reasonable proximity to the bulls eye, is accomplished by boresighting the rifle. Boresighting, by any method used, is to only align the scope with the rifle bore in a somewhat general proximity.

Boresighting a bolt action rifle or an inline muzzleloader can be done by simply removing the bolt on a bolt action rifle or the breech plug on an inline muzzleloader so that the bore can be looked through to determine where to set the scope's crosshairs for the scope to be generally aligned to the rifle bore. An autoloader, a pump action rifle, a non inline muzzleloader or any other rifle that the bore cannot be directly looked through must be boresighted using one of the boresight devices available at sporting goods stores, online, etc.

When boresighting a rifle by simply looking down the bore, place the rifle with the bolt or breech plug removed in the shooting vise or sandbags. Then look down the bore and move the rifle until the bulls eye on a target (the same target and distance that will be used later will do) centers exactly. Then, without moving the rifle at all, adjust the scope until the crosshairs are exactly centered on the bulls eye. You can always double check this if there was a chance the rifle was moved during the process.

When boresighting a rifle using one of the boresight devices, it is probably best to follow the directions that came with the device because there are a number of ways these various devices work. One can choose to not spend the money on a boresight device and fire the rifle to check and adjust boresight instead. The target must be large and close to the shooter, within something like 5-10 yards. This process would generally be the same as the process described below.

Before continuing, something should be said about rifle barrel temperatures, muzzleloader barrel cleanness, bullets used and crosswinds. Any rifle barrel gains heat and moves around a little forward of the scope mounting area immediately after it has been fired and most any muzzleloader tends to slightly alter the point of bullet impact after the barrel has become fouled from a previous shot. Firing the rifle in fairly rapid succession while setting the scope or failing to swab a muzzleloader barrel between shots are both some very common mistakes people make. Mixing bullet weights, bullet designs, bullet manufacturers and powder charges also usually alter the point of impact. Fairly high crosswinds will have an effect too.

The best scope aligning job is attained on a rifle where the barrel is kept cold and clean (muzzleloaders) and the same bullets or powder charges used that will be used for hunting or just target practice. In fact when hunting, the very first shot is usually through a clean, cold barrel.

I get a little irritated by people who say a particular high powered rifle shoots groups of 1-2 inches at 100 yards, a .22 maybe but not most high powered rifles. Something is amiss if if their rifle shoots that inaccurate. Most modern rifles and most modern quality muzzleloaders are capable of a great deal better than that, and in fact many flat shooting rifles can even almost stack bullets when a little time and care is used. Shooting 3 shot groups in fairly rapid succession (without letting the barrel cool back to cold between shots), then setting the scope to the center of that group is not a really good way align a scope.

Here in the Deep South, most game animals are taken at ranges of 100 yards or less. Most modern high powered rifles (muzzleloaders included) will shoot well within the kill zone at ranges of out to 200 yards and less than 100 yards too when the scope is set using 25 yards. At approximately 25 yards, the initial fall of the bullet is over and the bullet climbs back to level with the barrel. The bullet then climbs to the top of its arch and then falls back to level with the barrel at somewhere around 150-200 yards. At least that's how every high powered rifle & muzzleloader I own shoots, so that's why we'll use 25 yards as a target distance to set the scope at.

To pinpoint the scope exactly, a great deal of care and prior preparation is necessary to avoid moving the rifle even the smallest amount at times and to exactly center the crosshairs on the bulls eye at others. The time spent doing this exactly will be well worth the effort in both a job well done and saved money in ammunition.

First, secure the rifle in the shooting vise or with sand bags with the crosshairs of the scope centered exactly on the bulls eye. Fire the rifle making absolutely certain not to pull it from the point of aim with the pulling of the trigger. Any movement should be as a result of rifle recoil and nothing else. Remember to let the barrel cool back to cold and swab the barrel on a muzzleloader any time another shot is necessary.

Now, place the rifle back in the exact same position with the scope again exactly centered on the bulls eye and very cautiously adjust the crosshair screws until the crosshairs exactly center the bullet hole. During this step, any movement at all of the rifle will necessitate redoing the above two steps.

Your scope is now set, but to be sure, you can fire a second shot at the bulls eye with the rifle again secured and the barrel cold and swabbed in the case of a muzzleloader. This shot should be very near the center of the bulls eye. If you do have a rifle that tends to shoot a little inaccurate, you can always shoot a 3 shot group and set the scope crosshairs to the center of that group. BUT be sure every one of those 3 shots is through a completely cold barrel and a swabbed barrel if the rifle is a muzzleloader, otherwise you're not really setting the scope as accurate as possible.

If you want the scope set for 300-500 yards or so, refer to an exact ballistics chart or at least to a close match (rifle and ammunition) and adjust the scope elevation crosshairs upwards the necessary amount according to the scope's per click change in elevation.

If you want, the rifle can be fired at those distances to be sure it is OK. Make sure it is a near calm day because even light wind can make a lot of difference at those distances.